Those who reach its giddy heights to stand beside Alexandra Palace – where the BBC made its first television transmission in 1936 – enjoy magnificent views of the city.

But while it is a challenge to walk the half mile up from Hornsey at the foot of the park, surely only those strong enough to compete in the ongoing Tour de France would be brave enough to attempt the hill on a conventional bicycle.

Lined up outside the Palace last Wednesday evening was a row of bright red electric bikes, brought here by the hire company Jump for use by around 35 participants on a study tour of the local area. If only one of the bikes had been available at the foot of the hill 15 minutes earlier.

Those taking part in the tour were headed for Crouch End to hear about plans to create a ‘liveable neighbourhood’ in its centre by improving conditions for walkers, cyclists and people using public transport. To get there the delegates rode en-masse down the hill and snaked their way through local streets, two abreast.

Riding an electric bicycle is quite something if you are more accustomed to a standard two wheeler. Rather than having to drop down through the gears and pedal hard whenever the gradient steepens, a push on the pedals of an e-bike results in a definite surge of power that makes inclines easier to tackle and descents that little bit more fun.

Among those taking part in the tour (but riding her own non-electric bicycle) was policy manager Sarah Barnes from the dockless hire company Beryl, which is working with several councils including nearby Enfield to deploy hire bikes. She says there is room for plenty of companies in the capital offering bicycles for hire – both the standard and electric variety. And when it comes to the future of dockless hire, she said “the best is yet to come”.

“We get to meet all sorts of people who get on the bikes for the first time in a long time. When they do, you see the magic in their eyes.”

On our arrival in Crouch End we parked the bikes up and two groups were led on foot alongside several main streets that converge at a clock tower. Leading one of the tours was Jereme McKaskill of Project Centre, which is working alongside the London Borough of Haringey to develop proposals to create more of a ‘liveable’ neighbourhood in Crouch End.

Ideas being considered include widening footways, making better provision for cyclists, changes to parking bays and introducing more seating. Ways of preventing rat running of traffic through local streets are also up for discussion and the team is liaising with local businesses about how changes to the street scene would accommodate their delivery needs.

One of the best opportunities is at the clock tower, where those on foot have to negotiate three signalised crossings to get from one side of a junction to the other. Connecting the clock tower to the footways is being considered and local people at several engagement sessions recently have pointed out which side of the street gets the most sun in the afternoon, and should therefore be considered as one of the options.

“We want to help make the area more enjoyable to use for those cycling and walking,” Jereme says. “And we are keen to make it easier to use the buses, which are the dominant form of public transport around here as there are no Underground stations nearby and the train station is further out.”

As the tour came to an end, I consulted my phone and headed back to Hornsey railway station, a walk of less than a mile. But the undulating route made me wish I was still on the electric bike.

(Photograph: John Bointon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)